Haven't seen the movie, thanks for the review.A Complete Unknown
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Watched this a few days ago and i really enjoyed it.
It's a biopic, very classic in its structure (chronological narration), so don't expect too much originality, at least in its form.
Of course, it relies a lot on the story and actors's performance.
The story is well known, it starts at the beginning of Dylan's career, with him meeting Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger and ends when he chose to use electric instruments on stage, around the release of the "Highway 61 Revisited" album.
The performances, especially Chalamet's are top notch, apparently him and other actors also performed the songs which is also quite impressive especially in the case of Monica Barbaro who plays Joan Baez.
As classic as the movie may be it provides a lot of emotions and that's what movies are supposed to do i guess, so if you're interested in Dylan's life and this kind of music, i recommend it, it won't change your life but you'll probably leave the theater with a smile.
For those who didn't know Pete Seeger's work, but love classic rock, i would recommend Bruce Springsteen's "We shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" (2006), and the live performance of the same songs (In Ireland obviously) the next year in "Live In Dublin"
Reluctant to ... guess I should give it a chance ... maybe Chalamet seems all wrong to me, too much the pretty boy, or I expected some kind of hagiography. Not sure. The Baez angle is intriguing. Diamonds and Rust is such a great song. She even influenced Zeppelin, who knew!
I love that Springsteen album! Foolishly I used to dismiss Seeger as the guy who supposedly tried to stop Dylan "going electric" at Newport in 65, but of course he's far, far more than that ...
If you've never seen it, do see the great Scorsese doc. No Direction Home, about Dylan's evolution up to '66 and the very same controversy about his move to rock. It really felt like betrayal to a lot of people. And catches just how big the guy was back then. A lot of Joan & Seeger in that, if I recall correctly.
Highly recommend the book Positively Fourth Street about Bob, Joan & the Village folk scene of the early sixties. Pretty jaded about the people and egos involved. To that end the Coen Bros.' movie about the same period, Inside Llewyn Davis, though not about Dylan specifically, catches the same jaded, counterintuitive, far from idealistic spirit.
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